Native American Books

This is a great author and great book. I experienced many personal connections regarding my Native American ancestors and healing practices within the pages of this book. Very easy read. This book lead me to many other books written by the same author.

Robert Moss's deep experience in the dreamscape is unlike any other shaman-writer in the West. As in all his books, this one shows the mark of a real shaman. In Dreamways of the Iroquois, Moss is more revealing about himself even than in his previous books. In spite of this personal tone, the book is scholarly at times. Interspersed with a retelling of the ancient myths of the Iroquois and Huron people, the children of Aataensic, is Moss'initiation by Island Woman, an Iroquois guide who leads him into the wisdom of her ancient people. One of the book's most potent message is that dreams reveal the real desires of the soul and should be honoured. There's little instruction here on how to work with dreams (one chapter does it) as the book is more of an exposé and a manifesto for the rebuilding of a dreaming society. I recommend all Moss's books to people interested in dreamwork as they are all very deep and rewarding.

A great book that explains the doorway to our dreams and how our dreams may help us face up to lifes challanges. A wonderful read and the author has clearly spent time in other realitys that are just as real as our own. There are many guides and messengers that can help us through our dreams if we are open to them and can remember how to communicate in this fascinating world.

As life if filled with messages, both in dreamtime, and time awake Moss guides us to listen to the spirit of your destiny. Moss was called to his dream writing and workshops and this book continues his teachings in understanding your dreams and and nurturing your intuition. Recently picked up a book by Wanda Easter Burch called She Who Dreams. Come to learn Burch and Moss met in New York many years after Burch dreamt of a young boy drowning, which happened to be Moss. Do not believe in coincidence and if you are looking for a path to understand your truths in life, this book will help your realization.

Dreaming is good for writing the next day. Dreams know a lot; what is dreamed must come to pass. If not, one's nature is not followed which, is the way of sickness instead of joy and good luck. I hope this book will help me along in this writing about the ancient goings-on. If you study Iroquois, you will dream vividly and feel special when looking at stars.

Any sports fan who picks up "Eagle Blue" will not be disappointed, although you should like this one even if you could care less about hoops....Basketball is the stage for the story, but not the story itself. This isn't your typical book depicting some world-weary NBA star or jaded coach. D'Orso makes you care about the players and coaches at a tiny school literally in the middle of nowhere, thus their wins (and losses) somehow become your own. If that were as far as this book took you, it would be satisfying just on that basis. But it doesn't end there.

By the time you're done reading "Eagle Blue", you'll likely become sympathetic with the people populating its pages. Theirs is a culture that has been decimated, and you can see very real defeat among many tribal members. Note: D'Orso interjects his own politics when he talks about ANWR, but it's not as much a distraction as it could've been. The real story is how a group of teenagers galvanizes a town with nothing else to cheer about despite the efforts of some people, mostly outsiders, to kill what they have, and he thankfully keeps the focus on that.

If you're at all like me (and God help you if you are), you'll fight to stay awake until 3AM because you literally do not want to put this book down and fall aleep.

Boldly honest, "insiders" perspective from an outsider. Interesting insight into modern Native life in Arctic Alaska.

D'Orso's honest, unembellished presentation of everyday life for the characters - team members and townspeople of Fort Yukon - allows the reader to gain an open true look at what everyday life entails in this part of Alaska. It brings out the difficulties of living in the outposts of Arctic Alaska, Native vs. modern culture, politics vs. the land/natural resources/hunting/etc., and of course the tale of a group of young men and women representing their town as members of high school basketball teams. The pressures faced by these young men as individuals, family members, and town members and how each deals with it and grows shows a great view of life as it unfolds for them. Their daily lives are woven around the story of the basketball team and the course of a season sharing the success and adversity over the course of the year. A wonderful mix of human interest and basketball.

Highly enjoyable read.

This review of a basketball team's season is about an entire culture and about life. You'll be rooting on the Eagle Blue as you read this true story.

I've read many books about a sports season that, in a boring way, review game highlights. D'Orso reviews the entire culture, what basketball means in bush country, Alaska, in prose that is wonderful and intelligent.

Excellent book on life and sports. I'd recommend this to everyone, especially players and coaches at all levels.

This is an amazing book. The women have so much experience and wisdom.
Presentation (photos and production) excellent. I look forward to a second book presenting deeper knowledge. Well done.

I liked the fact that 13 grandmothers from around the world were getting together to share wisdom. I just expected more wisdom.

Loan this book out? Never! Each person I loaned this book to did not want to give it back. They willingly paid the full price for a secondhand book just so it was not out of their grasp. So far I have bought five of these books from Amazon.
The inate wisdom in each word that these thirteen grandmothers speak eats at the core of your body as you feel the rightness of how their words sit in your being. We need these wise women who have experienced life in the modern world as well as embraced their amazing spiritually rich cultures and rituals.
After reading this book you will want them to become part of your life, which they will if you make time to see them when they meet twice annually to counsel the world in an open to all forum.

Thirteen grandmothers from around the world joined together in October 2004 in Phoenicia, N.Y. in fulfillment of a long-standing prophecy. Their gathering was in response to a call to action from the Grandmothers of the Sprit World.

As a result of their meeting, they formed the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. The purpose of the Council is to use prayer, healing, ceremonies and plant medicine to stop the destruction of Mother Earth and to restore balance and harmony to the world.

Listen to each Grandmother tell her individual story. Then listen to the collective wisdom of the Grandmothers as they guide our thoughts to prophecy, women's wisdom, sacred relations, Mother Earth, oppression, nature's pharmacy and prayer. Their advice is simple, direct and from the heart and backed by the Spirit ancestors and by the practices of indigenous communities around the world.

The effectiveness of the Grandmothers' cumulative wisdom depends on our absorbing the words of the Grandmothers in order to receive a direct transmission of their thoughts and advice so that we are inspired to take action on behalf of global unity and to assume personal responsibility for living out their wisdom in our daily life, our community and wherever we touch Mother Earth.

We too can walk in their footsteps if we open ourselves to what they have to say to us in this book and if we breath in the essence and spirit of their teachings.

I loved this book. We are in such need of these teachings at this critical time. In our culture many of us no longer live in community and we have been separated from our family elders and deprived of their wisdom.
These women have important information to share. Please listen and learn.

This is a great book that takes you on a real live journey deep into the daily live of Lakota people (and a stray Mohawk) on the Pine Ridge reservation. Vic Glover opens a window and allows us to peak inside his world and the world of his people, unknown to the majority living outside the boundaries of the reservation. Vic writes with a great sense of humour.
Although he appearently has the skills, he doesn't cut into 'the bigger political or environmental issues'. In his book Vic makes it clear that the issue of surviving under harsh conditions and to maintain the social values and traditional structure is big enough to handle. All of this with a wit. That makes that the book stays close to the heart, his home and the land and makes it very recognizable, even for readers unfamiliar with Rez live. Highly recommended!
Since I read Vic Glover the novel Skins by Adrian C. Louis became my second best book on Pine Ridge.

A group from our church has gone to Pine Ridge on Mission trips for the past three years and we have gotten to know quite a few people there. We always seem to have gained more than we have given during our week stay. This book tells it how it is for much of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It is a very helpful book for the leaders of our Mission to share with others that are joining us. We love the people there. They focus on what really matters in life and brings us back to where we all need to live. Most of us are so far removed from nature, family, giving our all to each other. This book shows us how and points out how far removed we are. It really brings questions to the way that I am living my life. It points out just how differently I need to live to become apart of life as Jesus would want me to live it.
Thank you, Vic Glover. And thank you to our Native brothers and sisters.

A moving glimpse into the everyday lives of the people that live on Pine Ridge. The blending of Lakota spirituality into the challenges of life in an impoverished society is outstanding!

This is a beautiful collection of short stories and is a real life account of living on in Indian reservation in todays modern times.
Vic Glover has an amazing talent and style of writing that 'just takes you right there'.
With much humour and sadness, Vic takes you on a journey, that whets the appetite, always leaving you wanting to read more.
This is a great read, I highly recommend it.

A must read for anyone interested in what life on a western Rez is really about. BroVic captures the humor and pathos of daily life in a marvelously clear, straightforward way that simutaneously makes you wish you were there to share in it and glad that you're not.

I don't fall asleep while reading. When I get sleepy, I put the book aside, turn out the light, and pull up the covers. How anyone can fall asleep with a book in their hands and the light on is beyond me--or at least it use to be. Candie Moonshower's The Legend of Zoey was so compelling that I simply couldn't bear to put it down. I knew I was growing sleepy, but I couldn't stop reading. So finally, I have the experience of falling asleep while reading thanks to Zoey.

The Legend of Zoey is the story of two thirteen year old girls who meet under strange circumstances--strange because they're living two centuries apart! Zoey, your average, mouthy twenty-first century gal boards a school bus for a class outing and finds herself in 1811. She meets Prudence and her mother struggling to survive the wilderness while the man of the house is off converting Indians to Christianity. You'd think that was enough turmoil for Zoey, but no, she picked the months the New Madrid fault took bites out of the Mississippi Valley landscape to time travel!

Clearly, the time traveling is a clue that the book is fiction, but the story's non-fiction details add charming pieces of reality. You aren't just reading a book--you are a young girl traipsing through the wilderness with a very pregnant and grouchy woman you barely know. You hear the leaves crackling under your feet. You feel the cold wind bite at your nose, fingers, and ears. The campfire stings your eyes as it gradually thaws your tired, aching body. You will experience this book, not just read it.

Moonshower does what every author sets out to do--she tells a story so vivid and so captivating that once it's over, the characters live in your head for days. I am especially grateful to the author for allowing Zoey to have a real experience. Moonshower didn't sell out in the end.

Almost all the characters are female, so this is probably a girl's book. However, Moonshower weaves those females into real events and traditional stories about the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. For that reason, it should be an easy choice for students studying the event--boy or girl.

I loved so much about this novel, The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower. These are the things I enjoyed the most:

1. Candie blended the past and the present so well together . . . they literally tied into one another. That was a really good move.

2. The two girls (Zoey and Pru) both faced similar problems in their lives, one with modern conviences and one without.

3. Zoey was not interested in the past, but when she had to go to the past she wished she'd paid more attention in her history class.

4. I actually felt at times as though I'd traveled back to the past with Zoey and it made me wonder if I could have been as brave as she was about the time difference.

5. Candie didn't make the kids sound stupid. That's always a plus.

6. The comet! The comet was an awesome detail. I loved how it became sort of like this invisible bridge, and similarity between the two worlds, past and present.

7. I loved the description and close detail Candie used throughout Zoey. Great job!

8. For someone like me, who hated having to study Arkansas history and American history, made history just a little more interesting. Even though the story was about Tennessee history. I actually had very little knowledge of what happened with New Madrid and everything that occurred, so I learned something. :)

9. The novel was very believable. Candie did a great job telling this story of Zoey and Pru.

This novel is a great choice for young adults and adults as well. Happy reading.

Candie Moonshower has seamlessly meshed the experiences of two girls in two different eras into a delightful tale. Against the background of real events, she has written a fun and at times, poignant story and manages to teach the reader, too. Writing about time travel and using two points of view can be tricky, but Moonshower makes the transition between points of time and view with ease. I look for more great books from Candie Moonshower.

I love Zoey's strength and the way she always tries to figure out a solution, rather than just sitting and giving up. Also, it was a nice change to see the main characters aware that Zoey was from another time, rather than the usual dance around the truth and attempts to hide it. Most of all, I love that the links across time don't go away (I don't want to put in a spoiler!) after Zoey returns to the present.

Wonderful, lovely read!

The Legend of Zoey is a charming time travel novel. Candie Moonshower has done an exellent job of integrating the facts of the New Madrid earthquakes with an exciting story. It was a real pleasure to read about two wonderfully diverse characters. It works.

Well written, full of passion and honesty. Cowan takes a leap of faith with courage in hopes that others will learn the connectedness of all, and the simplicity it takes to honor our most prescious resources, "OUR FAMILY". Well worth the read, and please; share it with others!

This book is an accessible, sincere and inspired guide for anyone who is curious about how to recover the human's innate ability to be in communication with the non-human world - which apparently just awaits our intention to do so. Eliot Cowan shares his own fascinating journey of discovery in a way that also offers to the reader ideas for how to do the same. His message is not, "look at me, I have special abilities," but "look into yourself and see what is there just waiting to be revived." The disastrous psychological, ecological and spiritual situation humans find themselves in as a result of having stopped engaging in "the great conversation" with nature, as author Thomas Berry puts it, can begin to heal if we try hard, now, to apply ourselves to the wisdom available in such books as Plant Spirit Medicine. We have a responsibility to read and utilize such information as Eliot Cowan makes available here. --Tayria Ward, Ph.D.

I have been reading and practicing these medicines for some time. I am also studying ethnobotany and plant medicine in relation to psychopathology. I picked up this book as a supplement to my work, and I did not expect that it would be so good. I would recommend this book to ANY person interested in this subject- whether they are totally new to it, or have been doing it for decades.
Cowan clearly and eloquently provides his take on this subject, and does a very good job explaining the basics. But he writes with a gentle tone, and makes plant spirit medicine something that everyone can do. This book isn't trying to sell anything or promote a workshop or healing modality. This really does provide some genuine insights on how to communicate with plants and use them for healing.
Eliot Cowan is right on with this book. You won't be disappointed.

Plant Spirit Medicine speaks of the elements of nature, the plants, shamanism, and healing. Cowan's integrity, wisdom and humor is apparent throughout. I first read this book 7 years ago. It changed my life, opening me up to a world where healing, love and compassion are always flowing from the plants and other aspects of nature. This book speaks of one man's journey and opens the doors to allow you to make your own journey and find your own path.

I've read this book 3 times and plan to read it again. It is clear that Cowan has a love for and a thorough grasp of his subject matter. A must read for anyone intersted in shamanism, herbalism or healing.

I bought this book for my nephew and it met all my expectations and I am sure he will be quite pleased with it.

Excellent reading. Michael Garrett has become a fine teacher like his father before him. A true student of life Michael takes the Cherokee ancestral stories, mixes in some modern day experiences and relays a wonderful message. If harmony and balance are traits you would like to have within your own life I highly recommend this selection.

If you want to find balance in your life, this book is an excellent way to start on that pathway.

Michael continues his journey of a Helper in the truest form of "being Cherokee". I am amazed at how simple God our Creator is revealed in our self induced complexity of life. Thank you Michael for helping to remove the scales of our heart and spirit. For those of you who are Christians, I would encourage you to use Michael's book as a help in your journey through the Bible.

Blessings

I came across this book while exploring my recently discovered Native heritage. It fit the bill perfectly, helping me learn about universal Native traditions, practices, and thinking. I could go on and on, but it's enough to say that this book is well written, informative, and enjoyable. Michael Garrett has a lot to offer.

Coyote has always been a special animal to me, so the title jumped out at me. The two feathers and physician's symbol on the cover present a beautiful balance. The physician's symbol has the twin serpents and the two wings of the one. In the background is the four, the Mystery.

Lewis' experiences are related in an interwoven manner. He rushes through life in the quest for medical expertise and validation. In doing so, he trips himself into bouts with infinity as his beautiful plans fall through, day-by-day, year-by-year. However, his rapidly depleted physical/mental being is slowly but surely filling from the inside out. The book is a wonderful, candid sharing of one human's journey to clarify his purpose, his vocation, and to realize such.

He seems like a powerless pawn at times. Have you felt that way? I have. It takes courage to choose the walk toward balance with a fellow being. Lewis had to learn the way of the warrior to survive his path as a healer.

The sweat lodge accounts are beautifully done. I felt it better than any other accounts I have read. Although I have not participated in a lodge, I have experienced years of "spirit stuff". He is talking from experience. Lewis tells us without violating the trust of his friends, manifested or otherwise.

The visions he describes are direct accounts, rather than attempts to relay deep knowings into a form the reader may understand. Visions come in dreams, in rituals, in waking, everyday consciousness, you name it. If we need it and are open to input, we will receive guidance. A vision is experiential, so there is no way to relay the richness and life of such an experience.

Ya gotta walk the walk--it's the only way.

I laughed pretty good at his experience learning to talk with the desert. I too learned this while out alone walking in the desert. At first I thought my spirit friends were nuts--and said so--but I did it and learned a lot. You'll have to read the book to find out.

There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow while reading this book, and a lot of laughter. Thank-you for making the great leap and taking the risk of sharing, Lewis!

This book is a well written merging of two subjects. The first is a personal sharing of Lewis Mehl-Madrona's upbringing and life experience as a half N.A. Native, his pursuit of a medical degree and specialty and his increasing disillusionment with the "science" of medicine as it is now widely practiced. The second is about Lewis' discovery of N.A. Native spirituality and shamani sm. He leads us on a winding path of discovery that introduces us to the intriguing characters who use shamanism to heal others, often while their own lives are in disarray, to those who sought healing and perhaps most importantly, to the spirits who assisted in the ceremonies. While pursuing this path of curing the individual, rather than the symptom, it seems that Lewis will lose site of his original goal to obtain his medical speciality. But, as so often occurs, as he helps others to heal, the path circles around to encompass his own needs and he completes his original path, a more well-rounded and enlightened human. More capable of understanding. More capable of giving what is really required. I found the writing to be powerful, the personal drama riveting and the glimpse into the ceremonies, symbolism and spiritualism of the N.A. shaman both moving and educational. After all these years of hearing the stories shared by N.A. natives, but not really understanding, I finally "got it". This book slaked a thirst I didn't know I had. Lewis not only shared his story but acted as a teacher and I know that I've grown as a result. I highly recommend it and hope that we'll hear more from this writer.

This book blew me away. I have reread much of it so many times and bought multiple copies for friends. I have filled the margins of my copy with notes and filled notebooks with essays and thoughts inspired by Dr. Mehl-Madrona's book. It is nothing short of miraculous itself, in addition to describing medical miracles and how they are brought about by spiritual intervention and Native American healing.

A child prodigy, Lewis Mehl-Madrona hitchhiked to a local college while still in high school, read philosophy science voraciously and was the youngest peacetime graduate of Stanford Medical School. The more impressive since his childhood was at times difficult.

At medical school, Dr. Mehl-Madrona became interested in shamanic traditions and attended some sweat lodge and tipi ceremonies. Here he encountered otherwordly phenomena such as blue light, sparks, sensorial stimulation and miracle cures in cases that were deemed too far gone by western doctors. Most importantly, Dr. Mehl-Madrona learned how shamans talked to patients, asked questions about their families and lives and spent long periods of time with them. The author learned that shamans tap into the inner healer of the patient, and consider themselves only partially responsible for any cure.

At the same time, Dr. Mehl-Madrona was encountering negligent and dehumanizing healing practices in his western medical pursuits. A few spine-chilling tales display the callousness and arrogance that exists in some hospitals and clinics. One example: two obstetricians made a bet concerning the fastest C-Section birth and the winner, very triumphant at seventeen minutes, accidentally tied something shut in the woman's internal organs. It was fixed and the woman even wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital! Such is the blind and sometimes unjustified trust the public has in the medical establishment.

The book is wonderfully woven with many colorful strands of storytelling. On one level, it is a memoir of Dr. Mehl-Madrona's journey to reconcile his western medical training with holistic and in particular Native American healing. He is part Native American, so this pursuit poignantly reflects his mixed heritage. Poignant because Dr. Mehl-Madrona often felt like an outsider in all areas of his life, as a Native American man, as an American man, as a western doctor and as an aspiring and ultimately successful shaman.

Another strand of his story is the Native American tradition of healing itself, which we discover in almost the same timeframe that he does. We are introduced to the traditional practice of storytelling as a healing technique at the same time that he is. Early in the book, when the doctor is a resident, he is tending a man whose medical condition is exacerbated (and perhaps caused) by his intensely critical nature. A wonderful passage in recounts Dr. Mehl-Madrona's tentative attempt at telling a story to the cynical patient, himself a psychologist, who groans with sarcasm as the story begins. As it continued, he was intrigued, however, and even hazards a guess at the meaning, to which guess the doctor gives an ambiguous confirmation. The great part of this passage is how Dr. Mehl-Madrona successfully enacts the role of enigmatic shaman even though he himself is still unsure of the story's meaning.

Coyote Medicine also discusses the role of the supernatural in shamanic healing, and the perception of magic and nature. For anyone who ever sat in the woods or even on his aparment steps late at night and felt a mystical connection to something unseen and bigger than himself, Coyote Medicine is a kindred spirit.

At one point the author goes on his vision quest and meets his power animals and is given shamanic healing tools. We as readers are present at many important moments in his life, including personal and family struggles (his first wife, according to the book, seemed to wrestle his children away from him and resented his shamanic efforts), professional travails (Dr. Mehl-Madrona's questioning intelligence, sense of dignity for the patient and also his holistic beliefs created friction with several different western medical institutions). When, at the end of the book, the author finds an accepting partner and on a professional level, a venue where he could combine holistic healing with Western, we feel as thought a close friend has triumphed in the face of great odds.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing, either for herself or others, and also about finding one's own individual path, as difficult as and untraveled as it might be, but that is true to the traveler.

Many blessings on this book and thank you Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.

Robert Murray Diefendorf, Author of Release the Butterfly

"Coyote Medicine" is a tremendous source of insight and experience within the path of shamanism and health. Dr. Mehl-Madrona's story-telling is magnificent and at times very suspenseful hitting directly on our sensitive health and spiritual issues we face culturally. But, he doesn't give you easy answers, because his path to becoming a healer was very complex. For me, this book opened up parts of my consciousness and answered questions I was asking and some of those I hadn't yet asked. This book was truly a God-send and I am savoring every word I read.

I enjoyed this book very much! It is full of truths ! I believe as does this man. I look forward to reading any book he writes.It was a easy read and on a level that I understood completely.I laughed and cried with his stories.I just loved it!

Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. I kept coming across places and people I knew and it brought back a lot of memories. I eventually supported several of his units with intelligence and map overlays for "sensitive" operations, and was in-country myself for six years. I had several run-ins with jerk officers but thankfully they were rare. But I did pull my .45 on three Pentagon O-6s at a SOG briefing when they refused to assist us. Luckily, an SF 1SG Deluca grabbed me and said they were not worth killing as they ran from the room. A couple of weeks later I was jerked out of VN and sent to Germany. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to know how close many of us got to the Vietnamese and the war, and I would very much like to be in contact with the author.

A well-written document by one of the troops on the ground. Crazy moments of a GI under stress, a good feel for the local hill people, and remembrances of buddies in the field. Some of the actions and soldiers described by Cornett have been written about by others and it is always good to see another version of events, not for differences but for shades and nuances to flavor the stories.

A personal growth story: A boy does good, does bad, then good again and manages to live through the process in a war that featured so many wrong decisions from higher and so many incompetent lower and mid-level officers more concerned with careers than with their men.

This was a good book to read. It gave a new perspective from "pre-military to post. I considered giving it 4 stars, but for an overall score, I thought 3 stars was more justified.

I can recommend Gone Native to anyone who is thinking about purchasing this book, but it is not a page burner and it seemed to ramble a little towards the end. But in no way would I want a perspective purchaser of this book to think it's not a good one. It is. He is frank and honest and what landed him in the stockade was quite refreshing. (You always hear about the other guy. Well, Cornett was the other guy. Thank you for your honesty.)

This was one of those books I didn't want to put down until I was done.

I have read hundreds of Vietnam nonfiction books and this is in the top 15 for sure. Great book and flows great, did not want it to end...

Suffering is the proper word. Anthropology should be totally, completely fascinating -- it's the study of human cultures, for heaven's sake -- but it's often a dry-as-dust class for college students.

This book is not dry. In fact, it's probably the only anthropology book that can bring the reader to tears of laughter.

Which is not to say that the book is a comedy. It's not. The book is a sympathetic and interesting take on the writer's study of the Dowayo people. But the Dowayo people -- like any other ethnic group or people -- have quirks that the people themselves cannot see. Nigel Barley lives among the Dowayo and documents their lives, tells how he does anthropology, and manages to do so in a way that makes the book one I sometimes pick up, open at random, and enjoy.

Stumbling upon this book was total luck! The only motive I had to get this book was a desire to learn more about Anthro as informal as possible- yet have it be completely nonfiction.

I just want people to know that this is my first actual review. That being said, everyone who reads this review should understand that I liked this book SO much that I not only sent it from my house in Japan to a friend in the states, but I also came back here to write a short blurb on it.

I promise any future reviews won't be such a waste of everyone's time! Take a chance and get this book!

I borrowed this book in the early 90s from a British friend (thanks Mark!) and it fast became one of my favorites (a close second to Brave New World). Witty, touching, and hilarious - I would love to have Nigel Barley over for a dinner party! I just wish he had written more books like this one!

Nigel Barley is a social anthropologist and this is his account of his first fieldwork, a year living and studying the Dowayo people of Cameroon. Social and cultural anthropologists (also known as ethnographers) travel to exotic locales (sometimes in our own backyard) and live among a group of people for a year or more in order to come to know their way of life intimately and write about it. Most every Ph.D. student in the field will face this "rite de passage" in order to become "a real anthropologist," and is generally given precious little guidance in the matter, which seems cloaked in mystery and is therefore commonly a source of considerable anxiety. In recent years, the situation has been partially remedied with the publication of some texts on methods and techniques, as well as the development of courses on field research methods, but there is still little written on the human dimension - namely, what is life like "in the field"? This book joins a small club, which includes Malinowski's diary and Return to Laughter. What sets Barley's book apart is his wit. He faces some serious problems but - in retrospect at least - laughs at them. It is a very entertaining read. You will learn a lot about what to expect in the field. It will also be useful for anyone who will be living in Africa and possibly other developing regions, such as Peace Corps volunteers and missionaries. I was, however, uncomfortable throughout the book because the author seems to be very distant and detached from the people he lived with and studied. It is hard to find anything very positive about the Dowayo, and the book therefore serves to reinforce negative stereotypes about Africa and bolster Western superiority. I prefer the eloquence and wisdom of Return to Laughter.

This is a budding anthropologist's account of his experience with an obscure and previously unstudied people in the Cameroons. If you thought you might want to be an anthropologist, this will either inspire you or turn you to some more comfortable calling. The innocent Englishman describes in hilarious detail his dealings with bureaucrats, missionaries, village chiefs, and rainmakers, while trying to maintain anthropological distance. You learn a little bit of anthropology from the book; you learn much more about the anthropologist. He may have embellished his story in places, but he probably didn't need to. It would make a great film, but don't wait for that. It's one of the funniest books you'll ever read.